The present invention relates to a series of new oxime derivatives which contain inter alia, a thiazolidinedione or oxazolidinedione group attached, via a methylene or methylidene group, to a benzene ring and which have a variety of therapeutic uses, and provides processes for preparing them as well as methods and compositions using them. Among the disorders which these compounds can be used to treat or prevent are included those arising from hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), insulin resistant non-IGT (NGT), non-diagnostic glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, diabetic complications, fatty liver, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); in addition the compounds of the present invention have aldose reductase inhibitory activity.
It is known that compounds which, like those of the present invention, contain a thiazolidinedione or oxazolidinedione group attached, via a methylene or methylidene group, to a benzene ring have this type of activity. Compounds of this general type are disclosed, for example, in Chem. Pharm. Bull., 30, 3590 (1982), in European Patent Publications No. 008 203, 139 421, 177 353, 208 420, 306 228, 356 214, 441 605 and 528 734, in WO 92/07839, 91/07107, 92/02520 and 92/03425, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4 728 739. However, none of the prior art of which we are aware, including the above prior art, discloses compounds having an oxime (--C.dbd.N--O--) group in a side chain attached to the benzene ring, which is characteristic of the compounds of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,739 discloses compounds in which an oxime group is present as a substituent on a cyclohexyl group, but the location of the oxime group and the remaining structure of the compound are substantially different from those of the compounds of the present invention. Surprisingly, the compounds of the present invention have a much improved activity and greatly reduced toxicity compared to these prior art compounds.